Peggy Noonan: Kudlow’s ‘Hollow’ Talking Point on Economic Optimism ‘Makes Me Nervous’

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan was a tad bit concerned on Meet the Press today over how much White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow kept emphasizing his “optimism” about the economy.

In appearances on Meet the Press and Fox News Sunday this morning, Kudlow said the economy’s doing well, downplayed fears of a recession, and repeatedly said, “Let’s not be afraid of optimism.”

He said it three times to Chuck Todd, and when the panel came on to discuss the economic news, NBC News correspondent Carol Lee noticed just how much Kudlow kept pushing that talking point.

“He kept saying, ‘We need optimism. Everyone should be optimistic. There’s not going to be any recession,'” Lee said, “but didn’t really have a lot of concrete answers for how that’s going to be avoided. And we know that the president is worried about this. We know the president’s advisors think that his reelection hinges on how the economy is performing.”

Noonah said if the economy falters, 2020 will become “more brutal, more ugly.”

And she also brought up Kudlow’s very high levels of optimism:

“Three times Larry Kudlow said, ‘Let’s not be afraid of optimism.’ He kept slamming away at that. He wanted that to be your takeaway. That makes me nervous. That sounds like a thing we’ve decided we’re putting out there. It sounds like ‘prosperity is just around the corner.’ It sounds like one of those hollow things that they want out there on a headline. Boy, it’s just looking a little unsteady I think economically. Perhaps people are having less confidence than they’ve had in the past two years.”

You can watch above, via NBC.